SUMMARY ABSTRACT Carle Cancer Center in Urbana, Illinois, a current NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP), is applying for renewed funding to continue its commitment to provide cancer prevention, control, screening, and care delivery research in the community setting. Joining in our efforts are affiliate institutions, Rush-Copley Medical Center in Aurora, Illinois and St. Vincent Anderson in Anderson, Indiana. Together, the NCORP affiliate institutions' objectives are to engage institutions and communities in the participation of research to advance all aspects of cancer care. The goal is to optimize the personal and institutional advances in health care through research that becomes readily transferable across other health care systems and populations for the benefit of all. The Carle NCORP is devoted to engage all members and communities to be represented in clinical and translational research. Over the next six years, the Carle NCORP will continue to recruit, train, and mentor any population or health system in the region to similarly participate in clinical research. Carle's strength is its highly integrated health care system, from top to bottom (organizationally and electronically), comprised of 928 primary care and specialty providers, all invested in a research culture. The Carle NCORP's three main strengths are cancer control, prevention, and care delivery research, novel imaging, and capabilities to acquire bio-specimens. Attributes in place to ensure a successful NCORP include: ? Over 35 years of community research oncology experience ? Multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional integration ? Significant rural and diverse population in eastern Illinois and portions of Indiana ? High accrual particularly with cancer control, prevention, and care delivery trials ? Cross discipline research initiatives at Carle Foundation Hospital, Rush Copley, and St. Vincent Anderson ? Stephens Family Clinical Research Institute infrastructure and support ? Institutional support for the underserved and for the research program as a whole ? Affiliation with academic centers ? Initiatives for imaging, bio-specimen, electronic data mining ? High quality data ? Strong regulatory processes